Among the most recent court disputes the legislation is intended to address is between SiriusXM and Flo & Eddie, a California corporation with the rights to songs by the 1960s group The Turtles ("Happy Together," "She'd Rather Be With Me").

Flo & Eddie had sued SiriusXM on behalf of itself and other pre-1972 artists claiming SiriusXM was infringing by caching and broadcasting (publicly performing) their songs for profit.

In avictory for broadcasters, who oppose the pre-1972 protections, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in February cited a New York state appeals court's ruling that there is no right to performance fees for the creators of pre-1972 sound recordings and reversed a district court's denial of a SiriusXM motion for summary judgment and directed the court to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled.

SiriusXM plays the Turtles pre-1972 songs without a license and without paying for them, arguing it is fair use—at least in New York. Artists and record companies claim that violates common-law copyright and is infringement and unfair competition.

The bill would be a victory for those artists and record companies, something they were rushing to confirm.

"The CLASSICS Act is an important addition to the Fair Play Fair Pay Act that demonstrates continued momentum for passage of comprehensive music legislation," said Daryl Friedman of the Recording Academy. "While the oldest distribution model—radio—continues to live in the past, believing artists should not be paid, newer digital services are working with artists to resolve issues once thought intractable. We support this legislation and thank Reps. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) for their continued leadership to update music licensing."

musicFIRST executive director Chris Israel said: “Recordings made before the arbitrary date of February 15, 1972, are among the most popular and valuable in the world. And yet, because of an anomaly in U.S. copyright law, the creators of those sound recordings have had to endure years of litigation simply for the right to be paid, and the litigation continues to this day. It’s time for Congress to fix this injustice so legacy artists are paid when their music is used by digital radio."